


the third stall in the boy's bathroom (or travis and sal's little space)

by boyewithane



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Help, High School, M/M, No Porn, absolutely none, bc fuck sexualizing minors!!!, how do I tag things, it doesn't even count as slowburn anymore honestly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-03-02 20:09:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18818119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boyewithane/pseuds/boyewithane
Summary: The day after the bologna incident didn’t feel real. Too much had happened too quickly for anything that’s happened today to truly be real. Hell, yesterday didn’t feel real. It felt like a bad dream that I just woke up from, and I can barely convince myself that it wasn’t. To make it even more complicated, Travis is dealing with his demons, demons that I quite frankly forgot existed until a couple seconds ago.Can I somehow deal with Travis and my own problems, and still make it out alive? What on Earth is going on in Addison Apartments? Will Larry actually murder Travis if I let him?





	1. beginning

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic! I'm not new to writing, but I've never written for fandom so I thought I'd try it out. don't kill me pls

The day after the bologna incident didn’t feel real. Too much had happened too quickly for anything that’s happened today to truly be real. Hell,  _ yesterday _ didn’t feel real. It felt like a bad dream that I just woke up from, and I can barely convince myself that it wasn’t. The only thing I have that can remind me without feeling crazy is the look on Larry and Ash’s face. This long, blank stare that is probably on my face too. Our friends gave us looks today at lunch, followed closely by whispers to those sitting around us. They were probably concerned,  _ very _ concerned, but they knew enough about us to not question it. We needed time, that’s all.

The day felt so unreal, in fact, that I barely noticed the complete lack of Travis. I only really noticed when I saw him slip away from lunch, to where I had no clue. Then I realized he had been quiet all day. I started asking myself why, but then it hit me.

_ The bathroom _ . I completely forgot about what happened in the bathroom. Yesterday felt too hectic to remember something as small as that, but now that I really think about it, that must’ve been a big moment for Travis.  _ So big that he’d go completely silent for the whole day. _

I quietly excused myself from lunch, sending reassuring glances at Larry and Ash.  _ They’d understand. _ I shoved the rest of my lunch in my mouth and threw away what I couldn’t quickly eat, clasping the straps on my mask and heading towards the bathroom.

As soon as I walked in I could practically smell the angst rolling off the third stall, the only occupied stall. Stepping towards it, I noticed that the note on the ground was still there and crumpled up, albeit crumpled into a tighter ball and shoved into the far corner of the bathroom.  _ I wonder who it’s for. _ Stood next to the door of the third stall, I could hear small sniffles from inside. I knocked gently, just once, and the sniffles immediately stopped. I bent down to check the shoes, which were bright green and  _ definitely _ belonged to Travis. I sat down, cringing at the weird wetness of the floor that definitely shouldn’t be wet.

“... what do you want,” came the quiet voice from inside the stall.

“To keep you company,” came my reply, a little rough from disuse. A pause before Travis spoke, the silence heavy around the edges but without the familiar urgency of most conversation.

“Why?”

“Because I want to be here for you.”

“No, not that,” he fell silent for a moment. “I meant the whole…” another pause, probably to make some gesture I couldn’t see, “Silent thing.”

Ah yes, something I couldn’t explain. Scrunching up my face, I tried to think of a way to explain it without completely traumatizing Travis. “Yesterday was a big day for me.”

“It was big for me too” Shit, wrong, backtrack.

“Like, bigger than big. So big that it didn’t feel real.” Partial truth is always a good option. He hums a little, and we fall silent. My mind goes completely blank for a while, and I’m not sure how much time has passed when Travis slides off the toilet to sit on the floor with the stall door the only thing separating our backs. I feel something brush against my hand, and I look down to see his fingers almost touching the side of my hand, like he wants to grab it but can’t. I think about the abandoned note on the ground and have a realization.

“Travis, I-” The bell rings just as I start to talk. I get up with a start, and he unlocks the stall door. He stands before me, looking very awkward and sniffling a little. I didn’t realize he had started crying again. Shit.

We stand for a couple seconds before a I hear a very quiet “class” and Travis walks out. I stay still for a moment before heading off to class.

When I try to talk to him later that day he pretends he doesn’t see me.

~

The rest of the week went about the same. The same as in, every day around lunch Travis would slip away to the bathroom, and every day I would shove whatever remained of lunch into my mouth and follow him. Every day we’d sit side by side, separated only by the stall door, and every day I’d try to bring up the note and be interrupted by something. Every day he’d touch my hand, but back away right after. Then the weekend came around, and I felt myself itching to slip away to the bathroom during lunch even though I knew Travis wouldn’t be there.

Monday rolled around and it was still the same, except with the addition of little glances in class, small greetings in the hallways, and the protective looks from Ash and Larry when they saw Travis being  _ nice _ to me. They tried to confront me several times on both Monday and Tuesday, about Travis and my mysterious absence during lunch, but each time I’d brush it off, just because I really didn’t have an explanation yet. No rhyme or reason, just something inside me that gently tugs my feet towards the bathroom, towards the quiet, towards those moments alone with Travis. I don’t think that’s something I could really explain to them, especially not when Travis has harassed me for so long. Not when he’s still tripping over his words, trying to make them come out nice when he’s so used to mean.

Wednesday, Ash and Larry corner me before school. I can tell from the look in their eyes that not only was this planned, but I’m not gonna be able to get out of this.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” I start, trying to give myself as much time as possible to think of an explanation.

“What’s the deal with Travis.” Alright then, right to it, I can appreciate that. I’m quiet for a couple seconds, which is entirely too long for Larry apparently.

“Is he blackmailing you? Is he bullying you into being his friend? Is he hurting you? Who do I need to kill?” he said, giving me no time to respond or even shake my head. “You know you don’t have to take his shit.”

“Larry, you don’t need to kill anybody, just give me a second.” Larry backed off a little, still hovering anxiously over me. I see Travis through the gap between my friends, and he looks guilty. I give him a small smile before I remember he can’t see it. Larry turns to glare at Travis, and I watch as he seems to shrink into himself. I take a breath and start.

“He’s… He’s trying to be better,” I start, “he told me a lot of things and we kind of…” I wave my hands around to somehow convey the meaning, “came to an agreement,” an agreement we never made, “If he tries to change, genuinely tries, then I’ll give him a chance, because he deserves a chance.” I could tell they weren’t satisfied with that, but they accepted it.

When lunchtime rolled around, we continued the routine. Travis slips away, I follow him to the bathroom, except this time Larry was following me. He was trying to be sneaky, he was truly trying, but there is no physical way that Larry can follow me and not be noticed.

When I got to the bathroom, I turned around and Larry froze like a deer in headlights. “Dude, I’ve gotta take a massive shit. You don’t need to follow me into the bathroom, and you certainly don’t want to.” After a quiet “hell fucking yeah man!” from Larry, I continued. “I understand that you wanna support me while I take this massive shit, but you gotta trust me man.” He was quiet for a moment, then he nodded and turned back towards the lunchroom.

“If you need anything, please tell us. We’re here for you, Sal.” I smiled, but he can’t see it, so I give him a thumbs up. I wait until I can't see him anymore to walk into the bathroom.

I walk to the third stall, where I know Travis sits behind the closed door. I slide down the wall and tap on the floor twice, letting him know it's me. I hear a little sigh and a sniffle, no doubt one he held in once he heard somebody enter.

This time, he speaks.

"So what'd Larry have to say?" I jumped a little off the floor. Collecting myself and what remained of my dignity, I spoke.

"He's worried because you're being nice. He thinks you're completely evil or something." Travis mumbles something that I'm pretty sure is self depreciating, so I turn a little to whack his shoe.

"You're not evil, Travis."

"I know you think that, but I'm really not that great Sal," and he sounds so broken when he speaks that my heart breaks a little. "I have no friends, my dad is… intense, and I bullied the only people who'd accept me." He gets quieter, and his voice sounds muffled. "Nobody likes me. I'm nothing."

I whack his foot again, this time harder. He turns, one hand falling to the ground to hold himself up. I take a chance and grab his hand, hearing a little squeak coming from the other side of the door, followed closely by a small bang from the stall wall. I only hold his hand tighter.

“You have me.” Travis doesn’t say anything in response, just squeezes my hand a little. I let go, and he seems hesitant to move away. He does eventually.

We don’t say anything until the bell rings, and he unlocks the door and steps out, a little red in the face and looking very flustered. He steps forward quickly, almost too quickly for me to process, and hugs me.

“Thank you,” he whispers in my ear before stepping away and leaving.

I stand there for a moment, trying to calm the irrational quickness of my heart, trying to settle my stomach and the fluttering on my insides. I barely make it to class on time.

~

When I see Travis the next day, he looks a little bit happier. He looks over to where I am and once he spots me, smiles and looks away. Of course, Larry and Ash have taken to acting like my personal body guards so I don’t get much opportunity to talk to Travis, but it still feels like a small weight has been lifted off my shoulders. The normal routine continues, small glances and short greetings in the hallways, the slipping away at lunch (with the additional “yes, I’m okay,” to Larry) and sitting next to the closed door of the third stall, tapping the floor twice. He talks again, nothing important, just small talk. I talk back. We run out of things to say, at which point we sit in content silence until the bell rings and ends our time alone. I get up, he unlocks the door, and he leaves after a small smile and an even smaller “See you later, Sally Face.”

Wash, rinse, and repeat on Friday. Weekends felt a little easier, but Larry kept hovering over me. Monday comes and goes, and Tuesday it’s the same thing. On that Tuesday, however, I open the bathroom door after lunch and watch as it hits Larry in the face. I check to make sure he’s okay, and he says he’s fine and quickly ushers me back into the bathroom.

“Alright, we know you aren’t just going to the bathroom every day at the exact same time and right after Travis leaves the cafeteria and also leaving right after Travis and only when the bell rings, so what sort of ‘agreement’ have you two come to,” Larry half whispers, putting agreement in air quotes. I realize at this moment how much it sounds like I’ve been giving Travis blowjobs in the bathroom for two weeks straight.

“Ok so we didn’t actually come to an agreement, but I’m the only person who talks to him, y’know?” Larry snorts at this, “And since the general consensus of Travis is that he hates me and wants to kill me…” I wave my hands around. Larry nods.

“So no blowjobs in the bathroom?”

“No blowjobs in the bathroom.”

Larry sighs. “C’mon, let’s go. Ash is waiting for us.” The door almost hits Ash on our way out, and she gives Larry a panicked look. He just shakes his head, and we head to class.

When I see Travis at the end of the day, he gives me a concerned look. Thumbs up. He nods and looks away.

The rest of the week is about the same. Larry and Ash hover around me, Travis and I have meaningless conversation in the bathroom, and Larry and Ash are there when I leave. They mostly leave me alone about the “Travis Situation”, (not my name for it, they call it that) which I’m thankful for. Travis becomes more comfortable having simple interactions with me outside of the bathroom, simple waves from across the hallway or a small “hello” here and there. It makes me feel good, to see him coming out of his shell a little. It makes me proud.

He makes me proud. How he can make me feel anything positive when two weeks ago he punched me in the face, I have no clue, but I don’t think this is the kind of thing I’m ready to question.  _ If not now, then when? _

I don’t listen to that voice.


	2. I should probably rename this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gay shit idk

    New week, same routine. Another week, little progress. It’s been a month now since we first talked in the bathroom, and he barely talks outside of it. Even still, I cherish the little moments that I can hear the smile in his voice when he’s talking about small things, like his dog or the cute kids he sees outside, and those moments when he laughs a little, a small gentle laugh, like he’s afraid of being heard. Sometimes when he laughs I hear little snorts mixed in, and it’s absolutely the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. I don’t tell him that, because he still acts weird when I compliment him or other guys

    We don’t talk in class (he’s still scared of other people knowing) but he gives me glances every now and then, followed by the smallest of smiles as he looks away. I look at him more than strictly necessary in class, but I don’t think he notices my eyes behind the mask, especially not where they’re facing or who they’re facing. I decide not to think about it, and he doesn’t talk to me in class. Well, on Friday, that changed.

    We were in math when Travis scared the shit out of me by tapping my shoulder. In the quietest voice, he mumbled something that sounded like “help” and “homework.” He looked around anxiously. I tapped his leg, and he turns back to me.

    “What do you need help with?”

    “...Everything,” he mutters. I look over the sheet he’s holding, looking at the problems in question. It doesn’t look too hard, but clearly he’s struggling. All the ones he’s tried are either completely wrong or half done. I glance up at him, and he looks immensely uncomfortable. I turn my face to him and his attention snaps to me.

    “Do you want me to tutor you?” Travis blushes a little and rubs his arm.

    “...Kind of, yeah,” he says, voice barely over a whisper.

    I nod. “We can meet up on a weekend if you want, or we can just go to your house after school,” seeing the panic in his eyes at the mention of his house makes me backtrack quickly, “or maybe my place. I’m sure my dad wouldn’t mind.” Travis visibly relaxes.

    “... Yes please.” He smiles just the smallest bit, and shuffles back to his seat. He sits down, looks at his paper for a couple seconds, then gets up and shuffles back towards me. He mumbles “help” before sitting down on the floor next to me. I smile a little.

    We work through the problems together, step by grueling step, but I was happy to help. We didn’t finish by the time the bell rang, but he agreed to come over after school so I could help him.

    Lunch comes around, and the routine continues.

 

~

 

    Larry looked immensely alarmed when Travis went home with us. I explained to Larry what was happening, and I explained to Travis that no, Larry won’t kill him and yes, he’s welcome over. Travis was relatively silent and Larry kept glaring at Travis so I talked the whole time. Just rambling to keep away the silence.

    We arrived, and Larry sent one last glare at Travis before leaving us alone. I let out the breath that I didn’t know I was holding, and Travis slumps down into himself. I turn to him.

    “Better?” He nods a little. “C’mon, let’s go upstairs.” I tug on his sleeve to lead him into the elevator, and he smiles a little. I tell him some of the dumb things Larry has done in my company as we go, and slowly but surely Travis relaxes. I smile too.

    When we get to my room, I flop down onto my bed with a groan. I turn my head to look at Travis, and he stands next to the bed awkwardly. I tug the closest clothes to my hand (which just so happens to be the side of his pants) as an invitation onto the bed. He looks confused for a second before a quiet “oh” comes out of his mouth. He starts looking for a place to lay down next to me, but since I’m right in the middle of the bed it looks more and more like a Sim who can’t figure out how to get somewhere. I scoot over a little, and he crawls onto the bed and sits. Gizmo takes this opportunity to jump up onto the bed, scaring Travis a little. He reaches out his hand for Gizmo to sniff, and then to pet him. Gizmo completely avoids the pets and opts to sit (human style) right next to my head. I give him back scratches. Gizmo lets out a big, long meow and walks away.

    Travis looks completely baffled through all of this. I suppose it’s not everyday for most people that you see a cat that doesn’t even bother to act like a cat and just skips straight to human. We stay like that for a moment, and it feels almost reminiscent of our time in the bathroom. A little bubble for the two of us to exist in. A place where he doesn’t have to try as hard, where I don’t have to try as hard, where just the two of us is enough. A place with no Addison Apartments, no secret cults, no cannibalism or murder or ghosts or trauma. Nothing but him, me, and our conversation. It feels nice, to be a part of that gentle calm, (especially with him) but it has to end at some point.

 _Just a little longer,_ a voice says even as I’m sitting up, _just a moment more with Travis._ I decide, again, not to question that voice. It’s the voice that I know wants to tackle hug Travis to get him to lay down, the one that wants to grab Travis’ hand even as I’m here grabbing his sleeve to lead him to the kitchen for snacks. It’s the voice that wants to slow dance with him in the light of the refrigerator that was opened in search of hummus to eat with the pita chips I found in the cupboard. It’s the voice that tells me how proud I am when I get Travis to smile at the whipped cream I pulled out and threatened to put on all of Travis’ pita chips just before he ate them. I don’t question the voice anymore, I stopped a long time ago.

I lead Travis back to the bedroom with the hummus and pita chips, (we left the whipped cream behind) and we pull out the homework. What starts as a couple questions about what to do leads to teaching him entire lessons, which leads to more questions about what all he knows. When I find out that he knows literally nothing about the math we’ve been doing all year, I decide in that moment that I either become a semi-permanent tutor for Travis or I die trying.

We only realize how late it is when my dad calls me out of my room for dinner. He looks a little surprised (but not much, he’s used to Larry just appearing) that Travis is there with me, but he sets out another portion of spaghetti. Travis looks nervous at dinner. I wonder why for a moment, then let go my worries. _That’s a concern for later._

When we get back to my room, Travis still looks nervous. I tug on his sleeve and tilt my head. A question without words.

“I, uh, should probably go home,” he speaks softly. I nod. He packs up his stuff, and I pack up mine. I take out a piece of paper, scribble my phone number down quickly, and hand it to him. He looks confused before taking out a phone and typing in the numbers hesitantly. I feel my own phone vibrate before Travis puts away his phone.

I walk him outside. It’s raining, a light rain.

“Do you want to borrow an umbrella?”

“No, I’m fine.” Travis runs out into the rain and turns around to wave at me. I wave back.

Then Larry fucking slaps my shoulder and scares the shit out of me (for the second time today) and has the gall, the nerve to say, “So, Travis huh?”

I gently punch Larry in the stomach. Lovingly. “Yeah, for _studying._ ” Larry raises an eyebrow. I punch his leg, a little harder this time. Larry rolls his eyes. We go back inside, and lounge around my room until Larry’s mom ushers him out.

Laying in my bed that night, I have a realization. I decide to completely ignore it.

 

~

 

    School the next couple weeks felt like it dragged on forever. Looking back, it flew by, but in the moment it was like wading through molasses. After the “Travis Realization” as I’ve dubbed it, one that I have completely neglected to think about at all, the one that definitely hasn’t kept me up at night, Travis and I have started talking more. In class, (mostly to help him figure out problems) in the hallways, (with the heavy supervision of Larry and Ash) even more in the bathroom.

    After _That_ happened, every day after school Travis would come over and I would help him understand what had been happening in school for the past half a year, a time which he had seemly been mentally absent for the entirety of. Every day we'd break out the snacks and I'd start to teach him about the math and science that he just couldn't wrap his head around, and every day I'd have to go to Todd about something.

    The first time Todd saw that Travis next to me, he slammed the door in our faces. After a couple seconds he opened it, and immediately demanded to know "why on Earth that homophobic dickwad is at my doorstep, next to you of all people." I explained what I had explained to Larry, and Todd stared down Travis for a while. Travis was then ushered in and the door was closed before I could enter. I still to this day have no idea what occurred between then and Todd opening the door again, because Travis won't talk about it at all abound Todd has only told me that he "gave Travis a reminder and gentle warning."

    After that, Todd has acted nothing but professionally towards Travis. Travis, as nervous as he is around everyone else, reciprocates the disposition. Sometimes it scares me how much they act like they've never known each other before. I think Todd is willing to give Travis a chance, however, and that's the important part.

    Every day, after dinner, I walk Travis outside and watch him run back towards his house. Larry always sneaks up behind me when I watch Travis go, and he hasn't been able to scare me for a while now.

    Now, weeks after _That_ happened, Todd is the one to corner me after Travis leaves instead of Larry. The look in his eyes tells me he already knows every answer I'll give, but that he wants to hear it from me anyway.

    "So when were you planning on telling me?" A very loaded question, and I know what he's asking. _When were you planning on telling me you like Travis?_ To be honest, I don't know if I was ever going to tell him. Travis and Todd seemed like complete opposites, with Todd only knowing the homophobic Travis and Travis only knowing Todd as gay. There's no point in even trying to lie to Todd, so I just tell the truth.

    "I don't know. I just thought that since it was _Travis,_ you'd immediately…" I trail off, unable to find the right words. I wave my hands around to compensate, and Todd nods. I realize somewhere in the back of my head that this is the first time I acknowledged that I like Travis.

    Todd grins and shakes his head. "You don't need my permission to be _friends_ with somebody, Sal." He puts a special emphasis on the word that lets me know he in no way means "friends". He turns around and walks back to the elevator, leaving me to stew in my thoughts.

    _So, where do we go from here?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two chapters in two days? surprising. this trend won't continue.


	3. chapter 3 oh boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> titled in my notes as "We've got an Ash situation on our hands"

Things went by even slower since Todd confronted me. Many nights were spent awake for far too long, trying to make sense of who I am now that Travis has stepped into my life. I made no progress, of course, because Larry kept breaking into my room and I had to try to find out how he’s getting in when my dad isn’t letting him in and the door is locked. The current theory that Todd, my dad and I have is that Larry got the keys from Lisa. Todd came up with that one. We’ve accepted it, since Larry refuses to comment on the situation.

In class, it’s mostly the same. Travis talks to me a little more, since the school has mostly ignored our sudden and unexpected friendship. Hell, even Chug and Maple stopped caring. On the few occasions that Todd is with me (and Larry and Ash) when I’m talking to Travis in the hallway, Todd and Travis talk like they’ve known each other for forever, or at least like they share some deep understanding of each other that literally nobody else understands. I know nobody understands, because I’ve asked both Larry and Ash and they’ve got nothing. It makes Travis laugh though, so I’m alright with it. (It also makes Todd watch me with a smug grin all day so maybe I should ask what’s happening there.)

Travis and I have started texting, too. Not even about tutoring things, though sometimes it’s about that, it’s mostly little questions, like how my day has been or how I’m doing. It’s nice, to have conversations outside of the bathroom. Larry, of course, tries to monitor “whatever saucy shit is going on there” but I don’t let him. Every once in a while, we text each other about whatever funny shit is happening in class at the moment. He texts me about how somebody invariably blows up a beaker in science, and I text him about the growing pile of things on the one person who sleeps through social studies.

Ash watches me text him sometimes. When she does, she has a look in her eyes that I can never read. It’s too complicated to sift through, and I’m too invested in Travis’ stories to pay much attention to it.

Today, a glorious Wednesday, I find myself going to text Travis about the growing amount of drawings on the whiteboard in english when I see that he’s texted me first.

_ They blew up 4 beakers today and it isn’t even halfway through the class _

Sometimes I feel bad for that person. Other times I’m astonished that they haven’t been kicked out yet.

**oh rip**

**they’ve started drawing dicks on the whiteboard**

**roberts hasn’t noticed yet**

_ Oh wow really _

_ Has she erased the Gizmo yet _

I snort. I drew Gizmo on Friday, and Travis really liked that one.

**no but somebody drew in his dick**

_ Good _

_ He deserves that much _

I smile. Gizmo does deserve to be preserved like this. I snap a picture of whiteboard Gizmo and send it.

**holy gizmo dick**

_ The holiest of dicks _

_ Not even Jesus dick can compare to this _

I like that we’re able to joke about religion because I don’t know what I’d do if he was still uptight about that.

**so what experiment are you guys doing**

_ I completely forgot _

**disaster**

**you’re lucky that todd pays attention**

_ I am eternally grateful for the things Todd does for us _

_ Bless Todd _

**he already is**

_ You’re right _

_ I’m a fool _

_ Thank you for allowing me to see the light Sally Face _

_ I am a changed man _

I giggle. I look up and see Mrs. Roberts looking right at me. I’m fucked.

**roberts caught me wish me luck**

_ I don’t know Sal _

_ She’s a ruthless killer _

I turn off my phone screen and look back up at Mrs. Roberts. She looks satisfied. I look down at my phone and see “ _ Wait no if you die you won’t be at lunch” _ before turning it off fully. I smile.

 

~

 

I do, in fact, live until lunch. When I see Travis in math he looks a lot happier than he’s been. Seeing him smile is doing things to my stomach that aren’t entirely unpleasant. He’s still smiling when I see him get up during lunch. He starts smiling wider once as he leaves.  _ That _ does even more to my stomach. It is suddenly a lot harder to eat. When we start talking in the bathroom, our conversation continues where our texts left off.

When lunch ends, Ash pins me with the same look as when I’m texting Travis. I’m still talking to him, so I don’t get much of a chance to talk to her, but when I ask her about it she just shakes her head. She leaves for class, and I’m left feeling very confused. I ask Larry and he doesn’t say anything. He looks sad though so I know he heard me.

The weekend comes, and Ash comes over. Lisa and my dad fight over who gets to serve her dinner. Lisa won. We all cram into their living room (Todd tags along too) and Larry and Todd take turns grilling me over Travis. Ash stays silent during that. After dinner, Larry, Ash and I end up in my bedroom flopped onto my bed, gossiping about cute girls at our school. (Ash came out as bisexual to us at the beginning of the year, and has since then not stopped talking about how cute Maple is.) Larry eventually starts talking about the kid in his art class that he has a crush on (which is absolutely adorable, but the kid is so intimidated by us, especially by Larry) and Ash talks about how no, that kid likes her way more,  _ they’re _ gonna end up dating. They start bickering over who gets to take the kid, which leads to me laughing hysterically and Larry laughing so hard he needs to pee.

As soon as Larry leaves, Ash adopts the same unreadable look. I’m doomed.

“So, Sal, I heard that you’ve been talking to Travis quite a bit.” I still can’t read anything in her body language right now. I decide that the best thing is to tell the truth. I look down at her left thigh.

“Yeah, I guess I have,” I fumble with the words, they don’t quite sound right to me. Oh well, I can’t really take them back now I guess. Ash furrows her brows a little. We’re silent for a moment, before Ash speaks.

“What do you hope to get out of this? I know your reasoning, Larry told me a bunch, but what do  _ you _ actually  _ want _ from him, from this?” Ash waves her hands around. I get the gist. I take a moment to think, fidgeting with my hands mindlessly. Ash stops me with her hands. I hold them tightly.

In reality, I don’t know what I want from this. I want a friend, I guess, and I enjoy being with Travis, but is it really worth all the trouble? He’s bullied me for forever, as long as I can remember knowing Travis not counting this past month and a half. Maybe he needs a friend, but it doesn’t have to be me. It could be anyone, I just happened to be there at the time. Maybe I…  _ like _ Travis but I don't have to stay around him. This doesn’t have to be my job, and yet it is. Maybe I saw a part of myself in him. Small, scared, friendless, just trying to get by. Maybe I needed somebody back then to help me figure it all out. Maybe I’m trying to be that person for Travis.

Of course, I don’t say all of this to Ash. Instead I shrug and softly say, “I dunno, I guess he’s cool?” Ash snorts and smiles.

“Of course you think he’s cool,” she’s grinning, “Buuuut, do you  _ liiiike _ him?” Ash wiggles her eyebrows and I feel my face flush against my will. I cover my face with my hands before remembering that  _ Wait, Ash couldn’t see my face to begin with, I just made it worse!! _ I groan, making Ash laugh. I drag my hands down my face and look her in the eyes. She’s smiling, which makes me happy, even if it’s at my expense.

“We aren’t talking about this right now,” I say as Larry busts through the door.

“What aren’t we talking about?”

Ash is back to grinning and just generally looking mischievous. “Sal having a crush on-” I cut her off by smacking my hand over her mouth and I can feel her muffled laugh coupled with spit on my skin. It’s a gross feeling, really. She licks my hand and I pull away, wiping it on my pant leg. Ash rolls her eyes and gives Larry a  _ Look _ that I know for a fact relates to Travis. I have no idea how they have so many nonverbal cues. Larry gasps and slaps a hand over his open mouth, turning to me.

“ _ Sally! _ How could you!?” Larry flops down on the bed next to us, laughing on the way down. He pats my leg, the one I wiped the spit on. “Honestly, though, we knew the whole time,” he says into the mattress. Knowing that makes me feel relieved, that they know and just don’t care. That they are so not offended by it that they can make jokes about it. I smile, but they can’t see it. So I let my eyes crinkle at the edges, because that’s how I smile. They smile back at me.

Ash starts again. “Ok, now that that’s out of the way,  _ Travis??? _ He’s like, the worst kind of twink ever.” We all laugh. This time, I’m the one who’s laughing so hard I have to pee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live. this, once again, looked far longer in google docs.


	4. update

I have no idea when I'm gonna update next so I'm making this just as a warning that it might not be for a long time.

I will update eventually!! I promise that much. I wanna go places with this fic, I wanna write more of the in between of high school to adulthood that we don't see in the episodes. I wanna write about that!!! so I will, just not right now. I've lost motivation (for now) and I don't wanna make anything that I'm not actually into for the sake of quality.

in the mean time, I will be working on my original story and the many offshoots it has! if you wanna read those, comment on this where a good place to post those would be! I won't be posting the main 3 stories, but I would post the other ones if enough people wanted to see them.

if you have literally any feedback for me, it's always appreciated, don't be afraid to comment on my stuff ever!! I'm here to put myself out there as a writer, and better to make mistakes on this bad boy rather than any published books.

take care everyone! have a wonderful day!!! <3

**Author's Note:**

> this looked a lot bigger in google docs.


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